MILAN – We’re celebrating Inter’s birthday, right? Well, someone today is having a double celebration, and all Nerazzurri fans are sending him their best wishes. Youri Djorkaeff was born on 9 March, and the 45-year-old is still remembered for the class and style that characterised his time at Inter.
His overhead kick against Roma is unforgettable and still remembered as one of
the greatest goals in football history. A few years later he told us that he
couldn’t even remember how he pulled off that masterpiece of coordination.
"I leaped to the heavens," he then
added with the same kind of flair that colours nearly everything he does. Youri
boasts Armenian heritage and a father, Jean, who represented France in the 1966
World Cup. He himself won the World Cup and European Championships with France,
as well as the 1997/98 UEFA Cup in Paris with Inter. It gave him a feeling of
immense pride to lift the trophy in his home country.
From his interviews it is possible to perceive his greatness. On his move from
Paris Saint-Germain to Inter, he stated that, "I didn’t really worry about
the signing. I was discussing football with president Moratti, which seemed
more important." Then on going from
Inter to Kaiserslautern: "It was like walking away from a great love. It
takes you a while to recall that, because it’s something that always hurts."
He recently spoke about Inter, Inter Campus and Massimo Moratti at the UN. Now he lives in New York, and he opened that big night at the United Nations in November with a presentation on the Nerazzurri’s social project. Djorkaeff proudly referred to Massimo Moratti as "my president", which is hardly surprising for someone born on 9 March. Inter was his destiny, written in the stars, and shining brightly among shades of blue and black.
